i don''t really identify with the idea of archetypes at all. and it is not like who we are relates to the archetypes, the archetypes relate to who we are. so it is basically just us making up characters for ourselves? but why? what is the benefit of categorizing people as archetypes? except perhaps to better understand how people view themselves and how people think others view them . it all seems silly to me, especially if there are an infinite numbers of archetypes. i am pretty sure my archetype is just me.
is arechetype supposed to be merely a function of story telling and character creation (literature, movies, etc)? this would make more sense to me.
I think the significance of Archetypes is their close relationship to stereotypes. Sreorotyping is considered by some to be an automatic cognitive process, that we need to be aware of...
The below is the first Paragraph of an article from
Attitudes and Social Cognition: Stereotypes and Prejudice by Patricia G. Levine
Social psychologists have long been interested in stereotypes and prejudice, concepts that are typically viewed as being very much interrelated. For example, those who subscribe to the tripartite model of attitudes hold that a stereotype is the cognitive component of prejudiced attitudes (Harding, Proshansky, Kutner, & Chein, 1969;Secord&Backman, 1974). Other theorists suggest that stereotypes are functional for the individual, allowing rationalization of his or her prejudice against a group (Allport, 1954; LaViolette & Silvert, 1951; Saenger, 1953; Simpson & Yinger, 1965).
In fact, many classic and contemporary theorists have suggested that prejudice is an inevitable consequence of ordinary categorization (stereotyping) processes (Allport, 1954; Billig, 1985; Ehrlich, 1973; Hamilton, 1981; Tajfel, 1981). The basic argument of the inevitability of prejudice perspective is that as long as stereotypes exist, prejudice will follow. This approach suggests that stereotypes are automatically (or heuristically) applied to members of the stereotyped group...
(I don't where this article can be located but i got it online somewhere, I have the rest but it is too long to post as an attachment...I think)
Anyway there does seem to be a correlation between Archetypes and stereotypes, and although we think of the word 'prejudiced' with negative connotations One can pre-judge positively as well,,,
